Is HIIT Superior To Normal Cardio For Long Term Weight Loss?

By Howe Russ


An increasing number of fitness enthusiasts are choosing high intensity interval training over regular cardiovascular activity in the gym, firmly establishing HIIT as one of the most popular weight loss tips in the post millennium era. If you're thinking about tackling a HIIT routine, you need to know the basic facts first.

Today you will discover the science behind HIIT and the reason it has become such a practised method in gyms around the world over the last few years.

Despite being over twenty five years old, HIIT is still fairly unheard of in much of the fitness world, with many regular gym users still succumbing to the old strategy of performing long, steady state cardiovascular exercise to hit the often fabled fat burning zone. Thanks to the constantly developing scientific studies behind the health and fitness industry, long steady state cardio is now yesterday's advice for those who are looking to burn unwanted body fat!

To go back to the roots of HIIT, you need to look at the two studies which brought it into the public eye. The first of which dates all the way back to 1985. Initially designed to test if exercises helped speed the metabolism, scientists noticed that most of the weight loss results were from individuals working harder in the gym. A further study confirmed this, with three weekly HIIT sessions outperforming five regular cardio workouts for fat loss, despite those workouts being twice as long.

The first real instances of people using this new approach in their training was sprinters and swimmers. These athletes saw HIIT as a method to increase their explosive power of short distances, which is very useful in their respective sports.

A 2001 study from Canada provided the first concrete evidence for HIIT as an effective method to lose weight. Studies confirmed that not only did it increase the body's usage of carbohydrates, which is uses for fuel in the workout, it also increased the fat metabolizing enzyme HADH. This was a shock at the time, because it doesn't actually use fat for fuel, it uses carbohydrates. Better still, this increase in HADH lasted for a massive fourteen hours. [
Learn the facts about high intensity interval training from personal trainer Russ Howe PTI.
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So not only was HIIT proven to be effective for losing blubber, it increased the body's ability to burn excess fat for over half a day after the workout had finished!

The study went on to show that it also increased lean muscle mass and prevented muscle breakdown during exercise. The best result of the study, however, was the fact that the HIIT group burnt off over six times more body fat than their steady state cardiovascular counterparts. This showed that one calorie burnt during a HIIT workout was equal to six during regular cardiovascular activity.

Since then, of course, countless new studies have went on to confirm the effectiveness behind interval training and it has become one of the most talked about discoveries in the history of the fitness industry, with countless personal trainers and fitness experts putting their weight behind it.

Like all new fitness concepts, high intensity interval training has recently made it's appearance in the mainstream. This can lead to some labeling it as a passing fad but, having seen the mounting evidence behind it's effectiveness, you now realize that HIIT can become one of the most productive weight loss tips for those who are prepared to learn a little bit about it before jumping in.




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